BMRCL takes up Mysuru Road work deadline challenge

IL&FS was awarded work of the 3.945-km stretch from Nayanadahalli to Pattangere stations

Will directly work with sub-vendors, contractors of the controversy-hit IL&FS

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has decided to leave no stone unturned to ensure that work on the Namma Metro project on Mysuru Road goes on without any hitches.

Work on this stretch was going on at a snail’s pace as Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), to which many of the sub-vendors and contractors are associated with, is going through a financial crisis. To avoid any confusion, the BMRCL will now be directly working with these sub-vendors and contractors.

The company, which was awarded the work of 3.945-km stretch from Nayanadahalli to Pattangere stations, for a project cost of Rs. 327 crore is said to have been hit by a financial crisis, slowing down the work for a couple of months. Some employees under the company were also being transferred and some were resigning for no reason.

Worried about this, and wanting to ensure it meets the 2020 deadline, Metro officials have quietly worked out a plan to work with the contractors and employees directly.

A senior engineer said, “This is a step-by-step process. We are directly working with the contractors or the sub-vendors, who were earlier handled by IL&FS. Many employees have been transferred and since BMRCL has the sole responsibility to complete the work and meet the deadline, we are now working with the staff directly.”

By the end of December 2019, the construction work will be completed —the interior and the track work.

–A Metro official

Officials also said that it is important to ensure that the construction work is completed by end of December 2019. “By the end of December 2019, the construction work will be totally completed -- the interior and the track work. While the track work is going on, the interiors will also be readied at the four stations.”

Metro officials said around 80 per cent of the work is completed. This stretch has four stations- Nayandahalli, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Jnanabharathi and Pattangere. An official said, “The trial and commissioning will take place only after the entire construction is completed.”

Namma Metro engineers are confident that there won’t be any more delays as the staff and the vendors are still available to carry out the work.

IL&FS, a core investment company, is working on road, power and water projects. The group, along with its subsidiaries, partners etc, is sitting on a debt of Rs 91,000 crore of which Rs 60,000 crore is in core projects. It plans to sell at least 25 of its projects which will bring dpown the debt to around Rs 30,000 crore but the entire exercise could take upwards of 18 months. In the meantime, several infrastructure projects -- including the ones with BMRCL -- that it is involved in across the country could take a hit as working capital has dried up as IL&FS defaulted on its payments.

Not a stretchDeadline for this stretch was shifted from 2019 to 2020. The Metro squad believes that land acquisition, utility shifting and liaising with the authorities led to the delay. Work on the Pattanagere station to Challagatta station at Mallasandra and Kengeri at a cost of Rs. 332 crore will be completed only after work on this stretch is done.

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